Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)

Last year, President Michael D. Higgins visited Monaghan town to lay a wreath to commemorate the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings 50 years previously. It was a poignant moment for the relatives and friends of the 33 people who lost their lives in Monaghan and Dublin on that fatal day - the greatest loss of life on a single day during the entire Troubles.A year on, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families again this week. It is said that to be forgotten is to die twice. That is a very relevant comment for the families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The families have continued for yet another year to await the truth of what actually happened on that fateful day on 17 May 1974. I pay tribute to all those who have worked so hard down through the years to try to lift the lid on this mystery. I acknowledge the enormous work done by Justice for the Forgotten, and Margaret Urwin in particular, as well as everyone else and, indeed, all the Members of both Houses who tabled many motions on this issue to try to move it forward.

Each year we gather here to discuss this year. Last year, there was a promise of progress with an investigation by Iain Livingstone into the Troubles, including Operation Denton, an investigation into the Glenanne gang which has been blamed for approximately 120 sectarian murders in the 1970s and 1980s and is suspected of carrying out the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as potentially others, such as the bombing in Belturbet in December 1972 where two young teenagers lost their lives and the bombing in Castleblayney in 1976 where one man lost his life.

As the decades pass, the death of loved ones related to the victims of 1974 is becoming more and more prominent, making the quest for truth and justice even more pressing as they suffer the insult of truth delayed and truth denied as their own life journeys reach their natural end.

I would be grateful if the Minister of State could update me about the reports and when the victims of the Monaghan and Dublin bombings can expect the reports to be published.